Weight Loss #1: Why lose weight?

When you're overweight, it's not only the clothes that don't fit anymore - everything else can go downhill from there. Before you lose more of your confidence, perhaps it's time to get to the root of the problem.

Your clothes don’t fit and you’re getting crankier with each passing day (all right, try each passing week, month, year…) not having enough control to stop yourself from eating and too big a size to raid the mall clearance sales with your girlfriends and score good deals on “normal” sizes. You’ve faced yourself in the mirror countless of times, making a hasty inventory of your rolls and bulges, and gradually get this sense of helplessness despite the media barrage of how to lose weight (quick!)

People say that it’s all a matter of control and discipline. Others will say that it’s got something do with genes. Others will say that it’s all a matter of “firing up” your metabolism so that it will work for you. Doctors will advise you to get a check up for hormonal imbalances. And in many cases, there’s a certain truth to all these nuggets of advice. You’ve got to find out why you are overweight.

Wouldn’t it be so easy if it just stops right there? Unfortunately, it doesn’t. As much as our biological makeup has a lot to do with our size and frame, there’s no denying that our emotions are at work here, as well. Some people eat when they are happy. Some people eat when they are depressed. And not surprisingly, there are also those who eat a lot regardless of what emotional state they are in. These are the people who simply love food, who just love the sensations in their palate, who love the smell of so many different cuisines that if you were to tell them to reign in their urges, you might just be telling them to halt a basic daily function, such as taking a bath.

I should know. I used to be one.

Just like you, I was exposed to so many weight loss “discoveries” and “breakthroughs” that I couldn’t just pick one and ended up trying them all out. From fad diets to food replacements to slimming pills and teas, I’ve tried them all. And yes, they were quick. They also yielded quick results. Unfortunately for me, they yielded even quicker rebound weight. This went on and on as a cycle until I could no longer stick with just one method, jumping from one to the other and eventually losing steam and giving up.

And then, some new supposed discovery would emerge and I would find myself hoping once more, and there goes the cycle again. What I’ve done – and no doubt, many others have done as well – is a big weight loss no-no because one of the major components of weight loss is consistency. Discipline will only take you so far until you snap, but coupled with consistency – well, this gives you a more optimistic mindset. You’ll be ready for the crunch and make allowances for yourself along the way.

Why is kindness to yourself so important? Well, because weight loss should never be viewed as a punishment, but a lifestyle change.